


Lights Out

by Mirgirl89



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Dark Character, Demons, EXO Planet (EXO), Love, M/M, Nightmares, Smut, Supernatural Elements, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:28:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23063974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mirgirl89/pseuds/Mirgirl89
Summary: Why can't he get away from it? Why does the darkness follow him everywhere? Baekhyun doesn't remember a time when his nightmares didn't control him. How does he find him no matter how far he runs? How much more can he take before he breaks beyond repair? Can he withstand the pain or will his light completely vanish?
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. Why is the Darkness, Brighter than the Light?

Long fingers slowly start to close around my throat. As it gets harder to take a breath, the only thing I can think of is, what did I do wrong? The last thing I saw before blacking out are his cold, dark eyes. 

Baekhyun arrives just before his boss takes a seat at his desk and quickly walks to his cubicle. It's the third time this week that he has been late so he can’t afford anymore trouble. Piles of paperwork surround the cramped desk, leaving just enough room for Baekhyun to place his coffee down. 

He silently grabs the first sheet and starts proofreading. At least this job keeps him busy enough to keep his mind off of things. There is something about working for an editing company, they always have enough work to keep them busy for days on end. 

A voice from the cubicle next to him, breaks his concentration. 

"Hey, Baek, it's supposed to be like 70 degrees today, why are you wearing a turtleneck?" 

"I, uh, just woke up with a bit of a cold chill. I'm fine, I promise." Baekhyun smiles slightly in response to his coworker, Minho. Minho seemed satisfied with that answer and returned back to his work. 

This isn't the first time a coworker has commented on his wardrobe. It's easier to cover up everything than to tell the truth that no one would believe. 

He focuses back on his assignment and blocks out the world for a bit. After what seems like an eternity, Leader Kim announces. 

"Alright everyone, time for lunch. You know this week is a big week, so please eat quickly and return so we can leave on time today."

"Are you going to eat with us today, Baekhyun? Don't tell me you're skipping lunch again to catch up on more work?" Minho asks.

"Sorry, Minho, I'm not very hungry today. You all go enjoy," Baekhyun replies with a small smile on his face.

"Ok, but maybe sure you at least grab a snack. See ya in an hour," Minho replies back before going to the cafeteria. 

Minho is always nice enough to ask every day, even though he receives the same reply most days. It's not out of the ordinary for Baekhyun to skip lunch to catch up on work. He doesn’t mind eating with them but people do like to stare and it always makes him feel a bit uneasy. 

Once everyone leaves Baekhyun stands up and stretches a bit before returning to the article he was reading. The longer he stares at the paper the heavier his eyes feel. He places the paper down and smacks his cheeks a few times to wake himself up. Despite shaking his head a few times, his head gradually slides down to the desk and the paper floats down to the ground, darkness closing in.

'Black. All I see is black. My heart is beating out of my chest but not because of the darkness. It's because of what is in the dark. I slowly feel my way along the wall, with my hands guiding me. Suddenly I bump into something big causing an object to crash loudly to the floor. Frozen in place, unable to move or breathe, I wait. Hopefully he didn't hear it. After 30 seconds, I let my breath out quietly and begin to move around the large object. Just as I round the edge and hand grabs my shoulder and quickly spins me around. I can feel his breath getting closer and closer…'

Baekhyun flies out of the chair in a panic. Looking from side to side to make sure no one was here to witness it. Cold sweat trickles down his forehead into his eyes, he wipes it away and takes a few deep breaths. 'It was only a dream, it was only a dream.' This was the mantra he did after every nightmare, not that it made him feel any better. What was he thinking, falling asleep at the office? Why did he think that this place would be the exception? 

With his heart still beating irregularly and the sweat starting to stick to his forehead, Baekhyun decides it's probably a good decision to wash his face and get some fresh air. Standing up from his desk, he takes a right instead of a left to use the restroom in the corridor since several people had started to return from lunch. 

Once stepping out of the office, he walks down the corridor to the public bathroom. He goes to the sink and splashes a few handfuls of water on his face then looks at himself in the mirror. His dark circles are getting more and more noticable, hopefully people just think that he overworks himself. After a few more seconds of staring, he steps out of the restroom and walks across the way to the elevator. His destination is on the 20th floor, the rooftop.

Baekhyun’s office was located on the 8th floor of a modern business building in the middle of Seoul. The architect wanted this building to blend in with the surroundings so the building sat pretty unnoticed amongst the skyscrapers. The redeeming factor to the building was the beautiful rooftop garden. It was what had drawn Baekhyun to this specific building.

The elevator dings letting Baekhyun know that he has reached his destination. The doors open to a beautiful garden filled with lush grass and many different kinds of colorful flowers. There are a few small trees placed throughout the garden with benches surrounding each tree. 

Baekhyun takes a seat at the closest bench and closes his eyes, letting the sun whip away the leftover darkness . After last night's "episode" and his nightmare it felt good to feel the warmth on his skin. The sun could take care of the small chill but it did nothing to melt the coldness that he always felt. The darkness never seemed to truly fade.

The darkness was always there. Maybe it was his curse to always see the sunlight but to never be able to fully touch it. 

Enough of those thoughts, Baekhyun didn’t come up here to not think. After what only seemed like 5 minutes, his phone chimed a reminder that lunch break was over. He walked slowly back inside, staring longingly at the sun then took the elevator back to the office. 

The rest of the work day went by in a blur. Baekhyun completed more manuscripts than he needed but it being Thursday, it would be better to stay a bit longer just to make sure everything can be completed by tomorrow. 

5 o'clock came and everyone began to leave one by one, leaving Baekhyun alone in the office. 3 more, just 3 more manuscripts then he would feel a lot better about leaving. It wasn't very often that he stayed late at work, he didn't like to be out late, especially when the sun began to set.

After finishing the last page and with a quick stretch of the muscles, he gathered all of the loose papers and tidied up the remaining mess around the desk. Just as Baekhyun reached down to gather his briefcase, the building suddenly went dark. 

Frozen in place, unable to take a breath, Baekhyun squeezed his eyes together and opened them again to only see more darkness. Finally able to move enough to look down at his phone, the screen read 7 o'clock. Why would all the lights suddenly shut off at 7? 

Working at this place for 5 months, he knew the way around pretty well, but he never had to navigate it in the dark. He needed to get out of here! With the help from the light of the moon, he carefully made his way around the maze of chairs and desks until he reached the door that led to the corridor. With the lights being out, using the elevator was out of the question so he opened the door to the left which led to the staircase.

Upon entering the stairway, Baekhyun noticed it was pitch black. Usually in these situations buildings have back up lights just in case but there was no illumination whatsoever. 

He grabbed his phone to use the flashlight so he could see to ascend the stairs. Being on the 8th floor wasn't horrible but it didn't feel so great to walk down 8 flights of stairs in the dark.

Just as he made it down to the 5th floor, suddenly the flashlight turned off. Dang it, he forgot to charge his phone while he was working. Not wanting to stay in the darkness any longer, Baekhyun grabbed the railing carefully descending going as fast as he could without tripping. 

Just as he hit what he thought was the 2nd floor, a sound came from above. It wasn't the sound you would normally hear in a stairwell but a low growl and the slow steps of someone ascending the stairs. Now would be the perfect time to move, yet his feet stayed planted in place. The steps grew louder and louder until they were nearly on top of Baekhyun. 

Suddenly, the walking stopped. Goosebumps lined his body and his hands trembled uncontrollably, something leaned toward Baekhyun in the dark and a warm breath pierced his cheek. Suddenly a deep voice broke through the silence, "Did you think you could escape me?"


	2. Why Are You Here?

‘This isn't real, it's only a dream.’

Long, cold fingers trail down his cheek and stop at his lips. A single finger slowly traces the outline of Baekhyun’s lips. It only stops once it reaches the bottom. Suddenly the hand aggressively grabs his chin squeezing it upwards. A warm breath caresses his cheek, melting away some built up tension.

A deep voice breaks the silence, stopping Baekhyun’s breath for a few seconds. 'Did you think that stunt you pulled would really stop me? You should know by now that I can find you anywhere.'

Although it was pitch black, he could feel its eyes pierce straight into his soul. Its large hand lifts the hem of his shirt, the coldness touching Baekhyun’s tender skin. Like a command was whispered, he obediently raised his hands above his head. Shivers fill his body as the fingers leave an icy trail up his sides. Once his arms were free of the shirt, the two hands work their way around his neck, gliding the turtleneck over his head. Another shiver fills his body, this time not because of the cold.

Finally freed, the shirt is tossed to the floor below. The anticipation of what’s to come makes it harder and harder for Baekhyun to breathe. All the anxiety from earlier is pushed to the back of his mind.

Forceful kisses begin at his jaw, leaving a moist trail as it works its way down Baekhyun’s chest. It stops at his nipple, putting its fiery tongue to use, stopping every few seconds to tease.

Baekhyun’s hand rushes to cover his mouth to silence any sounds that may escape. Breathe! He needs to breathe, but it knows him better than he knows himself. Electricity shoots through his body as a strong hand wraps itself around his hardening cock. A moan escapes through his fingers despite his previous effort.

Unexpectedly a bright light fills the room. A sharp pain fills Baekhyun’s head as the lights in the building turn back on. He kneels down to hide his head until he adjusts to the brightness. A fuzzy hand slowly comes into focus and well as the ring he had inherited from his father. Looking down I notice all of the new bruises on my body and my shirt lying on the step below.

*Slap slap* ‘I'm awake, I'm most definitely awake’.

How did this happen?! He’s never had an encounter with it in this world. How did it find its way here? Was that really not a dream?! 

A door opens on the first floor bringing him back to reality. Realizing he was still shirtless, he quickly pulls on the turtleneck and grabs his bag before running the rest of the way down the stairwell and out of the building. With a new fear instilled in him, he looks at the sun, knowing there isn’t much time left until night.The people and the buildings pass by in a blur as he rushes to the closest subway station. 

Once Baekhyun makes it to the station, he ascends the stairs and swipes his pass to enter the platform. Now to wait for the next subway to arrive. It only takes 15 minutes to the next station then another 5 minutes home. If everything goes as planned, he should be able to make it home just before the sun sets. This is the latest he has rode the subway in years, so he was trying his best to not let panic set in. He looks around to see a mostly empty terminal, there couldn’t be more than a handful of people, which was a bit strange for this time of evening.

He still can't wrap his mind around what he had experienced earlier. How did that even happen? It's a huge nightmare! Nightmares aren't real...but why was this different, and why did he kinda like…

A black spec catches Baekhyun’s attention. He turns to the left but sees nothing. His brain must be on edge because of earlier. With another look to the right he returns his gaze forward. The subway will be here any minute. 

Just as that thought crosses his mind, another black spec drifts by. His arm hair stands on end and he tries his best to just stare ahead but he can feel something inching up from behind. 

"He found it." A gentle, whispered voice came from behind. "I don't know how long he looked but he found it. You are going to have to be extra careful. I will do what I can to lure him away but I don't know for how much longer."

A deep growl sounded in the distance. The voice gave Baekhyun a gentle pat then vanished. Panic began to flood Baekhyun again. It was one thing thinking everything was an insanely realistic nightmare but an entirely different thing when it actually became real. And what was it that ‘he’ found?

The lights start to flicker again. Baekhyun glances around and notices that the station is now deserted. There were people there just a moment ago, where did they all disappear? 

The lights continue to flicker, the flickering growing darker for longer periods of time. 

Baekhyun’s eyes begin to widen as he hears heavy footsteps ascend the stairs. Click….click...click...click, echos through the platform.

‘It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream.’

There's a slight pause before the steps continue, getting closer and closer. 

'THIS IS A DREAM, THIS ISN’T REAL LIFE!’ Baekhyun shouts. 

The steps suddenly stop behind him and the lights slowly begin to dim until there is barely any light visible. 

The low echo of metal on metal, fills the station. As the sound of the train grew louder, so did Baekhyun’s courage. Just when he was about to yell again, he felt long fingers start to trace the outline of my spine. 

Unable to move or think, he stood frozen like a statue. Suddenly, Baekhyun felt something solid placed into his hand. He knew in an instant what it was. 

In a moment of confidence, he opened the cap and a bright light illuminated. He swung around to shine the light into the darkness, only to see a brief glimmer of dark brown eyes filled with lust. 

The lights switched back on and the lighter shut off. He’s never seen it in the light before...he’s never seen HIS eyes before


	3. Nowhere to Hide

Finally the train arrives. As soon as the doors open, Baekhyun quickly hops on and finds the nearest seat. His hands are still trembling from the encounter, but at least his breathing has returned to normal. 

'Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost.' The man sitting next to Baekhyun remarks.

'OH, uh, yeah I'm fine. Thank you,' Baekhyun replies with a slight smile. 

He puts his hands in his pocket to hide the shakiness. His left hand touches something cold, and he pulls out the small metal object. Its appearance was much like any other lighter, except for a strange marking on the side. The marking looked like a feather but as it neared the top it faded to black, like it had been burnt. 

Baekhyun curiously flicked the lid, only to be met with restraint. After several tries with no success, he drop it back into his pocket. How in the world did he manage to open it earlier? Maybe he closed the lid too hard earlier out of fright.

The screeching sound of the tracks chase away the last bit of fear and Baekhyun's mind begins to wander. What is going on with me? It’s strange enough having nightmares that feel real, what if my nightmares are real? 

Sharp,blinding pain goes through Baekhyun's head, he has to bite his tongue to keep from yelling out. HIS dark, lifeless eyes, sends a shiver down Baekhyun's spine by just remembering them. He was wearing a hooded garb, yet his eyes were piercing through the darkness. The slight curve of his lips as he crept closer to Baekhyun's face, makes his heart start to race again. 

The sudden stop of the train jolts Baekhyun out of his thoughts. He fumbles for his bag and exits the train. There are just a few rays of sunlight left as he exits the subway station, but there is no moon to be seen. It's still a 10 minute walk to his apartment but something at the back of his mind is telling him to take his time, even though he desperately wants to get away from the approaching darkness. 

The weather was starting to get cooler especially at night, and his lightweight jacket doesn’t do much to shake off the chill. He blows on both of his hands warming them a bit before sliding them into his pockets again. 

Overwhelming warmth comes from Baekhyun's left pocket followed by a sharp, shearing pain that pierces his palm. Completely shocked, he gently pulls the hand from his pocket, afraid to see what had happened. He closes his eyes tightly and takes a deep breath before flipping the hand over. He opens his eyes to the blurred image of a burnt feather. Carefully he touches the marking, there's strangely no pain and no indentation of any kind. It's as if it were tattooed to his skin. The closer he looks at it, there is a slight shimmer beneath the surface as if it were glowing. 

The loud crash of the trash can in the alley reminds Baekhyun that he is still standing outside in now, complete darkness. Chills go down his spine, leaving him with the feeling that he was being watched. Needing no other reminder, he briskly walks the rest of the way home and runs up the two flights of stairs in a panic before slamming the door closed and bolting all of the locks. 

The eerie feeling was still with him from the alley but everything should be fine now that he's home. After turning on all of the lights, Baekhyun is finally able to unball his fists. He walks over to the couch right as his knees give out and collapses into a slumped position. 

Glancing down at his palm, the imprint looks as if it has faded but it was still slightly visible. Baekhyun moves it closer to the lamp for a better look, only to watch it disappear completely. Has he lost his mind? How can it just disappear? He rubs his eyes and stares at the palm again, nothing. He tries balling his fist, putting it under his jacket and evening sitting on my hand but the symbol would not show itself. 

The exhaustion hit all at once. He looks down at his watch, 8:07, he still needs to bathe and at least make himself a small dinner, even though he's not even slightly hungry. At least there's no reason to be in a rush, it's not like sleep is an issue. 

A nice soak should help soothe away the tension and give Baekhyun time to clear his mind. He lazily pulls himself off the couch to start his bath water. His bathroom is to the left of his bedroom, after starting the water he walks to the bedroom for a change of clothes. 

‘When did I take this out?,’ Baekhyun looks down at the diary on his bed. He was running late this morning so maybe he took it out without realizing. Not noticing anything else out of the ordinary Baekhyun slips it back into his nightstand drawer and walks over to the closet for his pajamas. 

He returns to the bathroom and starts to undress. Staring into the mirror at the bruises that covered his body, he closes his eyes ,willing away the pain they caused not only his body but his heart. Baekhyun lightly touches the purple bruises around my neck, feeling the soreness of the newest collection. 

Steam rises from the bathtub, inviting him into the warmth. Baekhyun had given up taking showers a while ago, it is a bit rough for his frail body. One careful step and he sinks carefully into the soothing waters. 

Resting his neck against the back of the tub, Baekhyun releases all of the tension and lets the water do its magic. Just as his mind clears, his eyes begin to grow blurry. 

‘No! I have to stay awake! This has to stop!’ Just as Baekhyun shouts out the last sentence, he feels the drowsiness pull him in. The bright lights of the bathroom fade away...

Darkness. Baekhyun sits up, rubs his temple and opens his eyes to complete darkness. He tries to rub his eyes a few times just to be met with the same pitch blackness. Feeling around he finds himself on a bed... his bed. Not his bed at home but his bed in the nightmare world. When he comes here he doesn't always end up in this room but he’s been here enough to recognize it. 

He swings his legs off the bed and stands up, careful to not hit my head on the low ceiling. He moves his hand to the right, feeling the table, everything seems to be in the same arrangement as the last time he was there. The hard part was not leaving the room, it was not getting caught. 

Cautiously navigating the obstacles in the room, Baekhyun finally finds his way to the door. The door is never locked in this room, it's as if HE wants Baekhyun to run. Very slowly he twists the handle and opens the door just wide enough to slip through. 

The halls are always as dark as the room. There is never any light. As he slips into the hallway, the coolness of the tiled floor sends shivers up his body .He slowly begins walking down the empty hallway, using the wall for guidance. After what seems like an eternity, he reaches a staircase. 

The staircase is one of those windy ones, where anyone would feel disoriented, especially in the dark Careful to not slip, Baekhyun starts the trek down stopping every so often to calculate how far down he has traveled. Finally finding his stopping point, is it a left or a right? It’s going to be a left this time. Last time he chose right and ended up with this bruise, he rubs the yellowing bruise on his upper chest. 

Thinking about what happened last time he was here he didn’t realize that everything had fallen quiet. Too quiet. Baekhyun’s hairs on his arms stood straight up. He’s here. He's been watching him the entire time. There's not much Baekhyun can do, he is completely frozen in place. As he takes a shallow breath, he hears steps start to approach.. 

Baekhyun covers his ears to block out the noise but it's so loud that he can't even think. Suddenly it all stops. 

A hand comes from behind, reaching down to Baekhyun’s waist, finding its way into his robe. Chills shoot through his body as the hand moves across the bare skin. 

Lips glide down his neck, stopping right below Baekhyun’s new bruise from earlier. HE starts to nibble, causing a small moan to escape because of the pain. At once, it stops. His warm breath tickles Baekhyun’s ear. His deep voice pierces the quiet. 

'You know, it's easier when you run.'


End file.
